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BULLETIN – Alex Isenstadt: “Florida Rep. Allen West — the tea party pugilist and face of the class of House Republicans that stormed to power two years ago — conceded [this morning] to 29-year-old construction executive Patrick Murphy in one of the nation’s highest-profile congressional races. After two weeks of battle with St. Lucie County elections officials — and a recount of early votes that wound up extending Murphy’s lead — West acknowledged [in a statement to POLITICO] that he couldn’t surmount his 1,904-vote, or 0.58 percent, deficit. That difference was just outside the 0.5 percent threshold to automatically trigger a recount of all votes. So the brash conservative opted to bow out rather than wage a long and costly court battle he was unlikely to win. … West said: … ‘While many questions remain unanswered, today I am announcing that I will take no further action to contest the outcome of this election.’ West congratulated Murphy, saying, ‘I pray he will serve his constituents with honor and integrity, and put the interests of our nation before his own.’

“Democrats fell short in their bid to retake the House, but taking out West is one victory they’ll savor. … West was expected to win in the swing district, if only narrowly — he outraised Murphy 4-to-1, and enjoyed almost universal name ID against a candidate waging his first bid for public office. West ran as a rare truth-teller in politics, trying to turn his blunt talk into a campaign asset. Murphy bet that voters were tired of hearing it. … After ending election night trailing slightly, West and his legal team took aim at St. Lucie County election officials, alleging they mistakenly double-counted some ballots to Murphy’s benefit and missed others. … That led to a wild few weeks: Tea party activists rallied to West’s defense, raising money in preparation for a protracted legal battle.” See West’s full statement.http://politi.co/Xw4XlA

JIM MESSINA, in his first major post-election interview, headlines Playbook Breakfast this morning at 8 at the W Hotel, 15th and F streets NW. Outside reporters and cameras welcome. Livestreams here beginning at 8:10 a.m. www.politico.com/livestream Suggest questions and follow the conversation: #PlaybookBreakfast.

BREAKING – SEC. CLINTON HEADING TO ISRAEL, EGYPT – Josh Gerstein, with the President in Phnom Penh, Cambodia: “Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is heading to the Mideast in a bid to calm the violence that has escalated in recent days between Israel and the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, the White House announced Tuesday morning. Clinton is to leave from the Asian summit meeting here on a trip that will take her to Jerusalem, Ramallah in the West Bank, and Cairo, Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes told reporters traveling with President Obama. ‘The president and Secretary Clinton have been talking about the situation throughout the trip … We believe the best way to advance the discussions we've had with leaders in the region is for Secretary Clinton to take this trip, beginning with our close partner Israel.’

“Rhodes said Clinton has no intention of meeting with officials of Hamas, which the U.S. regards as a terrorist organization. ‘I can assure you she'll be meeting with the Palestinian Authority. The U.S. does not engage directly with Hamas’ … While the Palestinian Authority has no control over Gaza, Rhodes said meeting with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is important and worthwhile. ‘President Abbas is the elected leader of the Palestinians so they are a critical voice in these matters," Rhodes said. The White House spoke positively about the role the Muslim Brotherhood-led government in Egypt has been playing in trying to end the violence. ‘The president and the secretary believe the Egyptians have been quite constructive.’”

--Reuters: “Obama has not asked Israel to hold off on ground invasion of Gaza, believes Israel has right to make own security decisions – White House.”

--AP's Julie Pace, in Phnom Penh: "The White House said she would make three stops, meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem, Palestinian officials in Ramallah, in the West Bank, and Egyptian leaders in Cairo. Clinton was expected to arrive in Israel on Tuesday night and return to Washington late Wednesday or very early Thursday after making all three stops. Clinton's trip marks the Obama administration's most forceful engagement in the weeklong conflict that has killed more than 100 Palestinians and three Israelis, with hundreds more wounded. ... The president is scheduled to depart Cambodia later Tuesday, arriving back in Washington before dawn Wednesday."

EXCLUSIVE -- Poll by centrist Dem group shows Obama voters support entitlement reform -- Carrie Budoff Brown: “[A] Third Way poll of 800 Obama voters set for release Tuesday found that efforts to fix Medicare and Social Security enjoy broader support than liberals suggest. … The poll … attempts to speak to center-left lawmakers who may be sympathetic to the rising calls from liberals to not compromise. Unions and other progressive groups have pointed to surveys showing that Democrats don’t want lawmakers to touch entitlements, don’t view the debt and deficit as a top priority, and don’t favor Obama working with Republicans. Actually, they want all three, concluded the survey by Peter Brodnitz of the Benenson Strategy Group, which does Obama’s polling. …

“Jim Kessler, senior vice president for policy at Third Way, [said in an interview:] ‘A lot of the D.C.-based liberal groups seem to be representing a position that doesn’t exist in the Obama coalition.’ [A Third Way polling memo says that w]hen asked if Democrats and Republicans needed to make ‘real compromises’ to reach a deficit-reduction deal, 80 percent said that statement described their views extremely well, ‘making this the most strongly supported statement in the entire poll’ … 53 percent of Obama voters ranked increasing taxes on the wealthy as ‘very important,’ but fixing Social Security and Medicare was not far behind with 48 percent. Almost 80 percent said it would be better for the country if Congress and the president made changes to the programs, while 17 percent opted for no changes.” See the polling memo.http://bit.ly/QV9v1Z

CLIFF NOTES – “Democrats have own fiscal cliff issues,” by Jake Sherman and John Bresnahan: “By most accounts, President Obama’s win and the party’s strong showing in Senate races gave the Democrats a leg up in the negotiations … Yet getting a deal that raises tax rates for the wealthy may not be so easy for the party, and not just because of inevitable GOP resistance. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid will have to find 60 votes to extend just the middle-income tax rates — far from a given when a swath of the Senate’s moderate Democrats are up for reelection in 2014. Reid and the White House will also need to navigate a hardening Democratic divide on entitlements. Progressives don’t want any deep cuts that Republicans will insist on … Even if Speaker John Boehner were to risk his job by backing a tax-rate increase, there are Democrats who think a $250,000 income threshold is too low.

“So finding 218 House members to pass a bill that would extend the lower tax brackets isn’t exactly a cakewalk. Want Boehner to raise taxes? Republicans privately say the entitlement changes would have to be unimaginably sweeping. … Democrats haven’t yet coalesced around a position themselves, let alone found agreement with Republicans. … Top Senate Democrats are confident Reid can balance the conflicting demands of liberals and moderates. … This week, as Washington emptied out for the Thanksgiving recess, top aides across the Capitol are engaged in staff-level discussions on how to forge ahead on a fiscal cliff deal. On Monday, House Republican aides — including staff from Rep. Paul Ryan’s Budget Committee staff — huddled with White House staffers.” http://politi.co/Uca6vu

--“Fiscal Cliff Accord 'Vitally Important,' Ford Chairman Says,” by Bloomberg’s Keith Naughton in Detroit: “A deal between President Barack Obama and Congress to avoid the fiscal cliff is critical to the U.S. economy's health and to Ford Motor Co., the company's executive chairman said … ‘It's vitally important for the economy that we work this out,’ Bill Ford, who is also great-grandson of the automaker's founder, told reporters … Ford Chief Executive Officer Alan Mulally was among CEOs who met with Obama last week.”

TOP TALKER: On Election Day, DNC communications director Brad Woodhouse bet RNC communications director Sean Spicer that the loser would have his head shaved by the winner on TV. It’s happening Sunday on ABC's “This Week” – and Jonathan Karl will shave BOTH their read to raise money for cancer research through the St Balrick's Foundation. Donate here.http://bit.ly/Q7gB1W

--SPICER emails friends: “Click on my link … and we can turn our loss into a huge win.” http://bit.ly/Xw69W5

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ELEVATOR FODDER -- Boston Globe A1, “Turkey price has pantries parting with custom,” by Peter Schworm and Dan Adams: “With turkey prices rising, and more families falling on hard times, the decision was difficult but clear. Chicken would not kindle the holiday spirit, perhaps, but it would feed more people. Nowadays, that has to come first. … Charities call the move a practical if painful response to a trend those who turn to them for help are all too familiar with: rising food prices. The average cost of a 16-pound turkey has risen from less than $18 to more than $22 in just two years, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation, which cited rising consumer demand as the primary cause. Surprisingly, food pantries, which buy in bulk, pay more for turkeys than individuals, who benefit from Thanksgiving sales. That has spurred some pantries to hand out grocery gift cards … ‘plastic turkeys.’” Behind pay wall

2016 WATCH – N.Y. Times A1, “After Obama, Christie Wants A G.O.P. Hug,” by Michael Barbaro: “A few days after Hurricane Sandy shattered the shores of New Jersey, Gov. Chris Christie picked up the phone to take on a different kind of recovery work: taming the Republican Party fury over his effusive embrace of President Obama. On Nov. 3, Mr. Christie called Rupert Murdoch, the influential News Corporation chief and would-be kingmaker, who had warned in a biting post on Twitter that the governor might be responsible for Mr. Obama’s re-election. Mr. Christie told Mr. Murdoch that amid the devastation, New Jersey needed friends, no matter their political party … But Mr. Murdoch was blunt: Mr. Christie risked looking like a spoiler unless he publicly affirmed his support for Mitt Romney, something the governor did the next day. Mr. Christie has been explaining himself to Republicans ever since. His lavish praise for Mr. Obama’s response to the storm … represented the most dramatic development in the campaign’s final stretch. … [B]ehind the scenes, the intensity of the reaction from those in Mr. Christie’s party caught him by surprise, … requiring a rising Republican star to try to contain a tempest that left him feeling deeply misunderstood and wounded. …

“[I]n the days after the storm, Mr. Christie and his advisers were startled to hear from out-of-state donors to Mr. Romney, who had little interest in the hurricane and viewed him solely as a campaign surrogate, demanding to know why he had stood so close to the president on a tarmac. … It did not help that Mr. Romney had not called Mr. Christie during those first few days … The tensions followed Mr. Christie to the annual meeting of the Republican Governors Association in Las Vegas last week. At a gathering where he had expected to be celebrated, Mr. Christie was repeatedly reminded of how deeply he had offended fellow Republicans. ‘I will not apologize for doing my job,’ he emphatically told one of them in a hotel hallway … His willingness to work closely with the president has cast a shadow over Mr. Christie’s prospects as a national candidate, prompting a number of Republicans to wonder aloud whether he is a reliable party leader. … Inside the Romney campaign, there is little doubt that Mr. Christie’s expressions of admiration for the president, coupled with ubiquitous news coverage of the hurricane’s aftermath, raised Mr. Obama’s standing at a crucial moment. …

“Romney’s campaign manager, Matt Rhoades, emphasized that Mr. Christie did ‘exactly what a governor should do’ in a crisis. … [S]everal … donors speculated that Mr. Christie was positioning himself as a softer, postpartisan figure in time for his re-election as governor next year, when he may face the popular Democratic mayor of Newark, Cory A. Booker, or in preparation for the 2016 presidential campaign. … Kenneth G. Langone, the billionaire founder of Home Depot, … told Mr. Christie to ignore carping party activists who he predicted would soon plead with him to seek higher office.” http://nyti.ms/XYoKJx

REPUBLICAN REBOOT – WashPost A3, “Conservative activists lash out at establishment: ANGER OVER GOP LOSSES -- Backlash sets up intraparty battle,” by Paul Kane and Rosalind S. Helderman: “Evangelical leaders and conservative activists have a simple message for establishment Republicans about Mitt Romney’s failed presidential bid: We told you so. … The fight ahead will come in two phases, the first being legislative debates on taxes, entitlements and immigration, and the second in the GOP primary battles in the 2014 midterm elections. … The 2014 Senate races will serve as a test for establishment control of the political process. For the third consecutive cycle, Republicans will begin as heavy favorites to gain a large bloc of seats, and some party leaders want a bigger role in choosing those nominees.

“In 2010 and 2012, Republicans say, bad nominees in Colorado, Delaware, Indiana, Missouri and Nevada cost them what should have been easy victories. If those seats were in GOP hands today, the Senate would be deadlocked at 50-50. Some outside groups, however, stand ready to fight for the most conservative nominee, pointing to [Ted] Cruz [elected to the U.S. Senate from Texas this month] and Sen. Marco Rubio (Fla.) as examples of rising stars who won Senate races without establishment support. ‘The party is rarely in a position to determine the best candidate,’ said Chris Chocola, president of the Club for Growth. ‘When you have someone who can articulate a clear, convincing, conservative message, they win.’” http://wapo.st/SM9etw

BEYOND THE BELTWAY:

--“Powerful supermajorities elected to statehouses,” by AP’s David A. Lieb in Jefferson City, Mo.: “There's a new superpower growing in the Great Plains and the South, where bulging Republican majorities in state capitols could dramatically cut taxes and change public education with barely a whimper of resistance from Democrats. Contrast that with California, where voters have given Democrats a new dominance that could allow them to raise taxes and embrace same-sex marriage without regard to Republican objections. … Half of state legislatures now have veto-proof majorities, up from 13 only four years ago, according to figures compiled for The Associated Press by the National Conference of State Legislatures. All but three states -- Iowa, Kentucky and New Hampshire -- have one-party control of their legislatures, the highest mark since 1928…. Democrats in California gained their first supermajorities since 1883 in both the Assembly and Senate. Republicans captured total control of the North Carolina Capitol for the first time in more than a century. The GOP set a 147-year high mark in the Tennessee statehouse and won two-thirds majorities in the Missouri Legislature for the first time since the Civil War.

“Republicans … gained or expanded supermajorities in … Indiana, Oklahoma and -- if one independent caucuses with the GOP -- Georgia. Democrats gained a supermajority in Illinois and built upon their dominance in places such as Rhode Island and Massachusetts. … In Indiana, the new Republican supermajority can now pass bills even if House Democrats repeat the walkouts they've held the past two years to protest the consideration of so-called right-to-work laws limiting union powers. … Republican supermajorities in both North Carolina chambers are likely to push for income tax cuts and sweeping education changes, including broader merit pay for public school teachers and expanded tax credits for parents who send their children to private schools. … In Missouri, House Speaker Tim Jones wants to advance an agenda that includes tax cuts, business incentives and education reform. … California Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg has outlined an agenda that includes changing the tax code and ballot initiative process and perhaps asking voters to legalize same-sex marriage.” http://yhoo.it/T8OA7N

--USA Today lead story, “FRACKING GAINS PUBLIC SUPPORT: Windfall drives voters to back energy projects,” by Dennis Cauchon: “Political obstacles to oil and gas production are starting to fall away at the state and local levels as voters, elected officials and courts jump on the energy boom bandwagon. Voters are rewarding local politicians who support production. Ballot measures are distributing potential tax windfalls broadly. And most state legislatures are focused on managing the economic and environmental consequences of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, so the drilling boom can speed up rather than slow down. The trend is crucial to the nation's energy future because oil and gas production is regulated and taxed almost entirely by state and local governments.” http://usat.ly/XYwz1L

SPORTS BLINK -- Baltimore Sun columnist Kevin Cowherd, “Dollar signs blind Maryland officials in move [from ACC] to Big Ten,” announced yesterday: “What we learned when Maryland bolted the Atlantic Coast Conference for the Big Ten on Monday were some sad, ugly truths about big-time college athletics. We learned tradition doesn't matter anymore. Loyalty doesn't matter anymore. A nearly 60-year affiliation with the ACC as a founding member doesn't matter anymore. Natural geographic boundaries that make sense from a travel perspective don't matter anymore. Nobody in charge at College Park seems to think it's ludicrous to send the baseball team to Iowa City for a game. Or to send the golf team to Lincoln, Neb. Or the men's or women's soccer teams to Ann Arbor, Mich. So what if these crazy-long trips keep the, ahem, student-athletes out of the classroom for even longer periods of time? Or that it'll be a lot more expensive to send non-revenue teams to such far-flung outposts as Madison, Wis., and Minneapolis-St. Paul? That doesn't seem to matter, either. Nor does it matter anymore what students and alumni think about these ridiculous conference realignments.

“The way these moves work now is that college administrators in expensive suits meet behind closed doors in secret conference calls, just the way it went down at Maryland. And next thing you know — ta-da! — here's another school packing its bags for greener pastures, another proud conference torn asunder, another New World Order to the ACC or the Big Ten or what have you. No, the only thing that matters anymore to these colleges with roaming eyes is the money. … But if you're Maryland, do you blow up 60 years of tradition and abandon a proud, stable conference just because the Big Ten's television deal pays out roughly $24.6 million to each of its schools while the ACC is projected to pay its schools $17 million?” http://bsun.md/XYpjCZ

** A message from FairSearch.org: Think Google should pick winners and losers in the online marketplace?

Through search bias, that’s exactly what’s happening. Google changes its search algorithm regularly, often with devastating effects on small businesses and content creators. Online entrepreneurs have no way of appealing these decisions or getting Google to explain how to reverse the penalties against them. But that’s not all. Google also biases the display of results to put its own products, like Google+, Flight Search, Maps, Places, News, and Shopping, ahead of natural search results through a policy of which most consumers are not aware. Search bias makes it harder for small businesses to compete and win in the online marketplace, and it hurts consumers and innovation. Learn how Google has hurt small businesses at http://fairsearch.org/ftcinvestigation. As the Federal Trade Commission completes its investigation, remember this: For small businesses and consumers, the stakes couldn’t be higher. **

Again, the hip and cool party uses name calling. How wonderful it must be to live in a world where you can so easily minimize a human to the point where you consider them rubbish. You act as if you and your political ilk are completely correct in all things. You seem to have no ability to see another point of view. It's sad. As for myself, I am quite far right of center. I enjoy my left of center friends and do not disparage them because they think differently than I do. They make my life interesting. Perhaps folks like Kee should try too see another point of view. It might be educational. ....or not.